The Last Flight of the Argus (2 page)

“
The maximum speed of an Antigon class craft, assuming her crew didn’t make any modifications, is roughly equal to our own,” the Senior Officer said. “If we maintain maximum speed, they won’t catch us before we return to
Titus
.”

“
Agreed,” Posner said. He pressed the intercom button. “Engineering, we need to alter course and apply maximum thrust.”

Captain Posner allowed a few seconds for a reply. None came.

“
Engineering, are you reading me?”

“
Sir?” the Senior Officer interrupted.

“
Not now,” Captain Posner spat. “Engineering, do you read me?”

“
They have their hands full.”

The voice came from the other side of the bridge. Doctor Stephenson stood at the door. He held a fusion gun.

“
What is the meaning of this?”

“
Your engines are about to seize up,” Stephenson continued. “Unfortunately, your crew will not be able to do anything about this.”

“
You son of a bitch,” Captain Posner yelled. Without thinking, he leaped from his chair and rushed Stephenson.

In Captain Posner’s mind he already held the scrawny Doctor’s neck in his hands.

In his mind, he squeezed the life out of this traitor. Stephenson would surely beg for mercy, but none would be given. The Doctor’s lean face would turn blue in Posner’s hands and he’d rattle off one last gasp before falling to the floor. Afterwards, Captain Posner would run down to the engine of his beloved ship and figure out exactly what Stephenson did. He'd fix his ship. He'd get her running again. He'd been in worse trouble than this. The
Virtuous
would survive. Captain Posner knew it would.

In Captain Posner’s mind, all would work out in the end. Everything.

But Doctor Stephenson anticipated the Captain’s moves and, without hesitation, pulled the gun’s trigger. A concentrated blast of fusion energy hit Captain Posner’s midsection. His body ruptured, bursting open in a kaleidoscope of blood and seared guts. The torn body hung in the air for a fraction of a second before landing with a wet thud on the bridge's metal floor.

“
By the Gods!” the Senior Officer exclaimed. The smell of burnt flesh filled the tiny bridge and he felt he was going to throw up.

Doctor Stephenson made sure he didn’t.

ERF SUPER-JUGGERNAUT “ARGUS,” in the Deadelous Constellation

“
The
war goes badly.”

The words echoed through Captain Nathaniel Torin’s office like metal striking bone.

They came from Admiral Lester Cambridge. His haggard face was displayed on the view screen. It was plump and weathered and very unhealthy looking. The man appeared years beyond his actual age. Hushed whispers from those in the fleet questioned how much longer he could take the strain of command. Some wondered when the Royal Council would replace him.

Captain Torin, the man receiving the Admiral's transmission, knew doing so would be a grave mistake.

“
Understood,” Torin replied.

Admiral Cambridge nodded. He, like most members of royalty in the Epsillon Empire, was a distant relative –in this case a second cousin– of Torin’s. When they were kids, they spent many weeks together at the Royal Palace in Winterhaven. They were good friends despite the blood rivalries that littered the history books.

It was when they entered the Space Corps as young adolescents that their paths diverged. Cambridge was fascinated with the intrigue of politics while Torin longed to escape the terrestrial bureaucracies and experience the freedom of space exploration. Even though his family tried to convince him not to, Torin eventually achieved his goal of becoming a Captain within the Royal Fleet.

He was offered no easy path to this rank, despite his royal blood. His immediate superiors felt he was nothing more than a pampered blue-blood. But after passing their rigorous training, they reluctantly assigned him a small ship and ordered he circle backwater solar systems hunting small time smugglers or quelling petty tribal disputes. In time, Torin’s skills at both diplomacy and policing proved undisputable. His superiors had to acknowledge that beneath his royal surface lay a hungry, and highly competent, officer. Torin was eventually rewarded with a series of well-deserved promotions. His final promotion, his crowning achievement, was that of Captain of the super juggernaut
Argus
.

Admiral Cambridge, his childhood friend and second cousin, became his supervisor.

The past melted and Torin faced his old friend.

“
What are your orders, sir?”

Admiral Cambridge stared deep into Torin’s eyes, as if he were in the same room instead of fifty light years away. He took a deep, noisy breath and said, “We must speak of Erebus, and the way to end this war.”

“
Has intelligence determined—?” Torin inquired. He was surprised by the anxiety in his own voice. “Sir, is Project Phoenix..?”

“
Yes,” Cambridge replied. “As of the last two days, consensus has been reached.”

“
How close are we to action?”

“
We received the green light this very morning. That’s why I called.”

Torin fell back into his stiff chair. He turned away from the view screen and stared out the cabin’s window and at the stars beyond.

“
Are we…are we to go?” he said. His voice was a whisper.

“
Yes,” Cambridge replied. “I have read your briefings, and commend you on your anticipation. Your actions have already saved many lives.”

“
Thank you sir,” Torin said. His voice remained weak. “What exactly am I to do?”

“
Proceed to the Erebus System. Your Navigator has the course. Take the Displacer in the Monnel system to
Erebus Military Prime
. Once there, you are to get in touch with the
Basilica
and Commander Desjardins. He will give you further orders.”

“
Understood.”

“
I was…” Admiral Cambridge began but stopped. He shook his head. “I was hoping it would never come to this.”

“
But it is our only chance.”

“
I wish there were other alternatives, Captain. But to save two empires...we must go through with this.”

“
Yes sir,” Torin said. He managed a smile. “Sir...”

“
Yes?”

“
How...how are your kids?”

“
Well, Nathaniel. They miss you.”

“
I miss them. Tell Judy…give her my greetings.”

“
I will.”

An awkward silence followed. Captain Torin's familiar cabin felt darker, colder.

“
I wish I could say more,” Cambridge began. “Good luck, Captain Torin. And the Gods’ speed.”

The view screen went black and the darkness within Captain Torin’s quarters was overwhelming. Torin again looked out his window and at the stars. His eyes scanned the constellations and locked in on a tiny star on the upper right side of the window.

Erebus
.
Such a tiny, insignificant thing. So impossibly far away.

Captain Torin rose. He walked to the window and laid his hand on the tinsel glass. It felt cool to his touch. He focused on Erebus, as if the few feet walk from his desk to the glass somehow afforded him a closer look.

A chill ran down his spine. What happened in the next day at that distant, dull light would not only impact billions of citizens of both Empires, but it would have an even more immediate impact on the
Argus
and the crew that remained on board.

For Project Phoenix meant the death of everyone left on board the ship.

Captain Torin slammed his fists against the glass. He returned to his desk and pressed the intercom button. The youthful face of Ryan Mills, Captain Torin’s First Officer, appeared on the central monitor.

“
Yes sir?” Mills inquired.

“
We need to talk.”

Captain
Torin and First Officer Ryan Mills walked down the empty hallway of Corridor 31. In the past few months, few had ventured to this area. The accumulation of dust testified to this fact.

Visible at the end of Corridor 31 was a door. It led to a large, sealed room. The room housed Project Geist, one of the more than three thousand experiments conducted on board the super juggernaut. This experiment, unlike those others, was shut down due to ethical questions. The scientists involved in the project and on board the
Argus
were transferred, but their equipment remained behind.

“
Are you sure about this?” Mills inquired when they reached the door. “There remain great risks.”

Captain Torin pressed his hand against a thermal pad beside the door’s frame. A soft red light bathed his hand.

“
I’m well aware of them all,” Torin said. “I need to do this. If anything goes wrong...”

“
I have your orders, sir.”

“
Please identify yourself,” a computerized voice asked after the palm print was analyzed.

“
Captain Nathaniel Torin of the juggernaut
Argus
, identification prefixes 1000334a.”

The jarring sound of unassailable locks disengaging filled the empty hallway. The immense door leading into Project Geist opened.

Captain Torin and First Officer Ryan Mills stepped past the door and into the room. As soon as they did, the mighty door closed behind them.

An
hour later, Captain Torin was back in his quarters, reading the day’s intelligence reports and making certain everything was proceeding as it should. When he was satisfied all was ready, he exited his room and walked to the elevator at the far end of the ship’s principal corridor.

After entering the lift, he marveled at the number of levels within the ship.
His
ship.

Large as some of the destroyers in the RES Corps were, the
Argus
was the only super juggernaut class ship in the entire fleet. As such, it possessed the most conveniences. Despite her military classification, she had several large entertainment centers, food stations, and a unique, and very large, Hydroponics Level. The gardens were used to supplement the tasteless, and universally despised, nutrition rations and refresh the at times stagnant, artificially purified air within the ship.

It was to this level that Captain Torin headed.

He did so because his wife, Angela Torin, would be there among the plants. She spent most of the morning hours in that heavy humidity. It was her personal escape from the more stressful work in the Bio-Labs. There were many times she asked her husband to accompany her down there. But each time she did, Captain Torin found something more important to do.

After a while, Angela Torin gave up asking.

My loss,
Captain Torin thought. Lost time was another burden to carry with him into Erebus.

Captain Torin stepped out of the elevator and was immediately hit with a wave of humidity. Extending for several miles in front of him were rows upon rows of lush plants. He could not identify even one species of plant from the rest, yet marveled at what he saw nonetheless.

It is beautiful
, he thought.

Captain Torin's eyes followed a coiled vine that rose several floors up and beyond the evenly spaced lights hanging above the Hydroponics Level. Beyond the lights were hundreds of panels of tinsel glass. Beyond the glass and creeping through the artificial lights was the darkness of outer space. Without meaning to, Captain Torin spotted the faint light of Erebus…

No
, he thought.
Not here. Not now.

He took a breath and, despite his souring mood, forced a smile.

Captain Torin walked on. He was soon surrounded by the plants. After rounding a couple of corners, Captain Torin spotted his wife leaning over a beautiful red flower. She held it gently in her hand but did not pull it off its stem.

Captain Torin silently watched his wife. Her loose fitting clothes could no longer hide her pregnancy. In another few months, Captain Torin would be a first time father.

“
Well, well, look who’s here,” Angela Torin said and released the flower. Her eyes were icy blue and her hair light brown. She was several inches shorter than her mate and, when she was by his side, had to stand on her toes to kiss him. Afterwards, Angela pointed to the lush green bush and flower. “What do you think of her?”

“
Her?”

“
She's far too pretty to be a 'he'.”

“
It –she– looks beautiful,” Torin agreed. “What is she?”

“
That, my dear, is a rose. You’ve never seen one before?”

“
Maybe, at some point,” Torin replied. He reached for the flower.

“
Careful, she’s delicate.”

Torin drew his hand back. “She also has thorns.”